Perfekt vs Präteritum: Which German Past Tense When?
By Lena Fischer · CEFR examiner & DaF specialistUpdated 9 min read
German splits its past between Perfekt — haben/sein plus past participle, standard in speech — and Präteritum, the one-word past of writing. Exception: sein, haben, and modal verbs use Präteritum even conversationally (war, hatte, konnte, musste).
English has one simple past; German splits the job by register. Using each correctly sounds native instantly.
Division of labor
| Tense | Where | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Perfekt | speech | Ich habe Pizza gegessen. |
| Präteritum | writing | Ich aß Pizza. |
| Präteritum (always!) | war/hatte/modals | Ich war müde. |
Building the Perfekt
- Auxiliary: haben by default; sein for motion/change (gehen, fahren, fliegen, werden, bleiben, passieren)
- Participle LAST: ge- + stem + -t (weak) or -en (strong)
- Ich bin gestern nach Berlin gefahren.
Participle traps
- -ieren verbs skip ge-: studiert, telefoniert
- Inseparable prefixes skip ge-: besucht, verstanden
- Separables wrap around: einkaufen → EINGEKAUFT
Frequently asked questions
Should beginners bother with Präteritum?
Recognize it passively; actively produce only war, hatte, wollte, konnte, musste — needed daily anyway.
Haben or sein in the Perfekt?
Sein accompanies movement/state-change verbs plus bleiben. Everything else takes haben.
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